South Korean Film Crew Tour OKC School For Marketing Documentary

A city in South Korea has turned to Oklahoma City to mimic the way a school can impact a community.

A film crew toured a downtown OKC charter school to learn how to keep young families from moving to bigger cities.

Sitting snug in the hustle and bustle of downtown Oklahoma City is the new public charter school, John Rex Elementary.

“We are in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City and we are a part of the catalyzation (sic) of downtown and the rebirth of Oklahoma City,” said Head of Schools Dr. Joe Pierce.

The film crew is researching how the school is impacting the city's revitalization. They came all the way from Pohang, South Korea, to make a documentary showing how proud a city can be of its schools and how the MAPS 4 Kids project works.

“Look at this city, the Oklahoma City,” said Korean editor and cinematographer Hyoung Kyo Kim. “They attract people and they really love their own city.”

Pohang and Oklahoma City are similar in size and Pohang is having a problem keeping young families and young professionals from moving away to bigger cities.

“Our city kind of like feels sad about young people going outside. So we just like wonder why this city attracts young people coming inside,” said Kim. “That's why we come here.”

John Rex Elementary School specializes in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. There is a waiting list for every grade level and the school was extremely successful in its first year in 2014.

The film crew will show the documentary in their home city in October.

“Quality education is important no matter where you live,” Pierce told News 9.

The film crew said, while they were researching similar cities to showcase, they randomly came across a clip of Mayor Mick Cornett and liked it so much, they honed in on Oklahoma City.

The crew also interviewed some city officials and visited Chesapeake Arena and a couple of local businesses on their OKC trip.